Forsaken Brotherhood
The Forsaken Brotherhood, also known as The Brothers of Fire, or 'Protectors of Fire '''in their ancient times was a faction formed from a religious culture founded approximately one thousand years before the Liberation of Vemuna. 20 years after the Liberation, Mazio I Pastway decided to revive the dead culture with the hope of spreading his ideas of balance between one's body, mind and spirit, and so, he founded the Forsaken Brotherhood, although he made several changes. He then set a Code in order to insure that the Forsaken would be wisely guided. The Brotherhood was taken into high regard for many years, until 60 ALV, when a plot masterminded by the Order of Fate put the Forsaken in disgrace, with it's leader and founder, Mazio, being unable to do anything, as he was 70 years old. This was the start of a great secret war between these two factions. The Brotherhood is a partially secret culture, with few people outside of it being aware of its existence. Along with the Balance of the Three Aspects, as Mazio named the main values of the Forsaken, they also took fire and the phoenix has their symbols. The Code The objective of the Forsaken Code, established by Mazio, is to guide the members of the Brotherhood into their culture. What follows is the Code, as written by him: # Fight side-by-side with your brothers and sisters # Keep your Body, Mind and Spirit in synchronization # Have the flames of willpower, faith, and fraternity within you # Follow the Ways of the Phoenix until the end of days Induction Recruitment and members In the time of the Protectors, only people born in the culture were allowed to be recruited, but after the Forsaken Rebirth, anyone who was shrewd enough to discover the Brotherhood could ask for their help, and, if they wanted to, they could also ask to join the culture, and then start their training. The Forsaken managed to gain influence and presence all around Anupias. This caused a great diversity of people and cultures in the Brotherhood, as people from all around the world could join the Forsaken if they found them. Training The Forsaken intensively trained their mind, spirit and body to reach perfection. They read and wrote, and talked with the great minds of their time in order to obtain knowledge. They would often solve puzzles, riddles, and mysteries as well, which were either in the libraries and archives of the Forsaken or in ruins, usually explored by them. They gladly accepted to help those in need (if those people knew how to find the Forsaken), be it someone who was seeking guidance, revenge, or how to acquire a certain skill. They also extensively trained most forms of combat, particularly swordsmanship, marksmanship and martial arts. They were also very skilled in free-running. The training had no set duration: instead, the higher ranks of the Forsaken decided when a trainee was ready to become a fully-fledged member of the culture. When such even happened, the Initiation Ritual would take place. Even after the ritual, the training didn't stop, as the Forsaken would always try to take their skills to perfection. Initiation Ritual Wdhen the higher ranking members of the Brotherhood decide that a trainee was ready to become a Forsaken, they summoned him or her to their Headquarters, where the Initiation Ritual took place. In the ceremony, the trainee would put his left fist in his chest, and a high-ranking Forsaken and the trainee would hold each others' right forearm over a brazier. The soon-to-be Forsaken would then make the vows that would connect him to the culture, followed by the Shanty of Fire: "At the eyes of the Phoenix, I say these words: I will fight side-by-side with my brothers and sisters, keep my body, mind and spirit in balance, have the flames of willpower, faith, and fraternity within me and follow the Ways of the Phoenix until the end of days. ''Its warm surrounds us, and makes us stronger, Its wrath is dangerous, but we do not fear it, Its balance is that of life and death, and we accept it We embrace it, while others flee from it, Its warm surrounds us, and makes us stronger." After these words are said, the new member receives his own Forsaken vambrace as a symbol of membership in the culture. Vambraces The vambraces that were given to the new Forsaken members were made of eutrorium, which was a rare, highly resistant and durable yet light metal, that had a shiny black appearance when purely and finely smithed. The Forsaken culture encouraged the modification of these vambraces with personal drawings, text, or symbols, in order to add uniqueness to the piece of armor. This allowed the vambraces to be used not only as a defensive tool, but also as an expression of individuality and pride in the Forsaken culture. These modifications were made by soaking a stick in wine, to which the eutrorium had a chemical reaction, leaving a silvery color mark where the stick touched. Culture The culture of the Brotherhood had the name of "Ways of the Phoenix", which included the daily life, beliefs, creed, and code of the Forsaken. Balance of the Three Aspects The Balance refers to the perfection of the Forsaken's body, mind, and spirit. The Brotherhood's main goal was to achieve singular greatness through the training of these Aspects: they aimed to be take the capacity of their bodies to perfection, be intelligent and racional, and be able to master their emotions. The Forsaken also valued the qualities of willpower, faith in oneself, and fraternity, among others. Fire ''"The phoenix does not die. It merely transforms." ''- Mazio I Pastway, regarding the Forsaken Rebirth Although the Forsaken no longer worshiped the Unknown Fire God, they still felt a great attunement to fire itself. The symbol of the Forsaken is a Phoenix because this mythical animal symbolized resurrection, related to the Forsaken Rebirth, and fire. Most of the rituals and ceremonies of the Brotherhood revolved around fire, like the Initiation Ritual and the Brotherhood funerals. Most Forsaken headquarters, lairs and hideouts had at least a brazier to symbolize the Brotherhood's presence. In addition, some rituals of the culture include the use of bonfires, which are normally present in special dates, such as the birthday and date of death of Mazio or other important figures, and in the Night of Shadows. Death The Forsaken have great respect for the dead, and believe that "leaving a body to rot underneath the earth is a great lack of recognition". When a member of the Forsaken Brotherhood dies, a funeral is made, in where the deceased is laid in a wooden bed, which is then set on fire. During the cremation, the Forsaken Fire Worship is recited. The ashes are then collected in a jar and either scattered in a location that was special to the deceased or taken to a place of choice, normally a crypt, alongside his or hers gauntlet. Order of Fate 60 years after the Liberation of Vemuna, the Order of Fate executed a plot that covered the Forsaken Brotherhood's name in shame. The reason why the Order did it is unknown. As a retaliation, the Forsaken identified and assassinated the Order's leader, Olivier. Later on, the Order secretly founded another faction named the Syndicate, which carried the duty of making the Order's dirty work. This was the start of a war between the Forsaken Brotherhood and the Order of Fate, which had the Syndicate as backup. History Early times Originally, the Forsaken were called Forsaken Protectors, and their culture revolved around the worshiping of an unknown god, and killed and made human sacrifices in his name. These sacrifices were made through massive pyres, which they called "Candles" and anyone who rejected the Protector's ideals was made a victim of their flames. Only members born in the culture were allowed and, if at the age of sixteen, a son or daughter of a member of the culture decided not to join the Protectors, he or she would be executed in a Candle, as an offer to the Unknown Fire God. Little else is known about the Protectors before the Liberation, but the culture eventually died. Forsaken Rebirth 20 years after the Liberation of Vemuna, Mazio I Pastway, decided to revive the culture, and so, he founded the Forsaken Brotherhood, although he made several changes: he ended the religious and murderous ways of the Protectors, which included the end of the Candles, tolerated most religions, and established other fire-related rituals. He allowed people from outside of the Brotherhood to be recruited, in contrast with what happened in the Protector's era. He also added two more aspects to their culture: the Forsaken started to value the training of their body, mind, and spirit and also the qualities of willpower, faith in oneself, and fraternity. Under the guidance of Mazio, now known as "The Wise Phoenix", the Forsaken thrived once more, this time as a three-sided culture, made of compassionate people, wise individuals, and fierce warriors, where everyone that was perspicacious enough to find them could receive help. The Brotherhood was taken into high regard for many years, until 60 ALV, when a plot masterminded by the Order of Fate put the Forsaken in disgrace, with it's leader and founder, Mazio, being unable to do anything, as he was 70 years old. The reason why the Order did it is unknown. As a retaliation, the Forsaken identified and assassinated the Order's leader, Olivier. Later on, the Order secretly founded another Faction named the Syndicate, which carried the duty of making the Order's dirty work. This was the start of a war between the Forsaken Brotherhood and the Order of Fate, which, secretly, had the Syndicate as backup. Category:Factions Category:Cultures